Autism

I struggle - rarely get from IKEA but with any kind of picture instructions I can really struggle! I think I need picture and written instructions - or video!

I always have to get my dad to help me, I always try because I want to be able to do it myself and right now! But 95% of the time I end up just getting dysregulated after trying for hours and call my dad and having to wait until he can have time to come over 😭

Some instructions are a bit better than others - some are awful and even dad ends up putting something in backwards and having to take it apart to put it back together lol.

But success - a few weeks ago I put my little 1 drawer bedside table together table independently! It took me a few hours over 3 days whereas I'm sure it would take most people like an hour or so but I was proud to get it done. Of course I put the railings in wrong the first time so had to disassemble and reassemble 🤦‍♀️

It's frustrating because I actually enjoy some Lego and model kits (like the DIY book books) when the instructions make sense. I enjoy formulaic instructions but I don't have the... like foresight? Like some people can know why they're attaching the piece a certain way for later in the assembly but I can't see that so I am often building without understanding the bigger picture - if that makes sense!

1. Read instructions

2. Get all the pieces laid out and sorted.

3. Read instructions, and look for pieces (if you want, you can match them up with postit note numbers)

4. Finally start assembling while you read along with directions again.

It sounds like a huge waste of time, but it only takes a couple minutes and then when you go to assemble, you'll know what is happening and will likely realize as soon as something goes wrong.

So in the long run, it'll save a bunch a time and frustration.

If you're tying to "build it out of box" you're setting yourself up for failure. If you've seen all the pieces and their corresponding diagrams, you're less likely to mix them up.

Is it just me and does everyone else just find it easy to follow the instructions, or do a lot of other people struggle with them too?

Most people hate it because most people try to "build it out of the box".

I thought this was about Linux flatpaks for a second.

I enjoy it if all of the pieces are there.

I just spent the week assembling furniture. IKEA’s instructions and overall build quality have fallen from the last time I did this. The instructions have gotten less detailed (as in, do I use the board that has six holes in pattern A or pattern B? The boards aren’t labeled and the patterns are very similar). Also, the hardware has gotten even cheaper than before. The cams that capture the hidden screw heads have always been fairly easy to strip if you’re not careful and they seem even moreso now. I didn’t have any trouble because I came into the task knowing this, but it was still a bit of a let down.

The store experience itself was about the same, with less employees milling around which is good for the showroom but bad for the warehouse. Overall the experience was slightly more negative than previously, especially since the prices have jumped for what IKEA offers which is, let’s face it, assemble it yourself junk furniture.

I definitely feel similarly about bad instructions. I have found a few recent products that actually had good instructions which made me really understand the issue.

Good instructions give a single possible interpretation. Bad instructions could be interpreted to mean mutually exclusive things.

Does the washer go on the bolt before the bolt enters the hole? Or on the other side? If you get it wrong you may not tighten it correctly and may compromise the strength of the furniture.

I recently bought and built a few items and they had clear, unambiguous instructions. Only one possible interpretation, clear logical steps, and well labeled parts. One was from GiantX and the other was Fantastic Furniturea chain here in Australia. The difference between those and other flat pack items was insane.

I get a bit frustrated, but also realise the ridiculousness of wanting to get it over with so I can go back to my lego...

I used to write a bunch of work instructions at my previous job, not for customers but employees. It's definitely a skill but my God they can get long with all the details. I once wrote instructions with a part to screw a unit into a fixture. It took 5 pages, there was 1 screw.

Anything I have to learn comes with preparing for massive frustration

It's like adult Legos, so maybe that's why I don't mind it.

I may or may not have started a woodworking hobby out of spite for flatpack furniture. At one time IKEA had some decent things available. The cheap stuff was always crap but if you spent a little more, you'd end up with a pretty solid piece of furniture.

That's just not the case anymore. The expensive IKEA stuff is quickly approaching the quality of the cheap stuff from 20 years ago.

So far I've made a few TV consoles, a closet cabinet, a built in closet system, a desk, and some bedside tables. Oh and vertical pull out cabinets in my shop.

Turns out if you have the space and don't value your time, sanity, or apply a cost to tools, you can make anything you want! Except for a profit.

I'm my mom's go-to person for assembly. I'm generally okay with it. It's worth noting that I build gunpla for fun, so it makes sense to have me be the one to do it. Though, I can't really say that I enjoy building the furniture. The frequent use of Allen keys certainly isn't helping the furniture's case.

Ikeas flat pack is actually pretty decent for how well it goes together compared to other budget brands. Sure Ikea has reduced quality over the years, we still have a dinning room table thats made from solid pieces of actual beech rather than the vinyl wrapped cardboard that they sell as table tops now. Dont even get me started on the switch from metal to plastic cam locks.

Their builds are usually one of the simplest for flat pack due to better than average build tolerances, some actual QA (although its not foolproof), and well thought out design. I can usually build Ikea furniture without looking at the instructions because it reuses so many of the same concepts, its the Lego of flatpack.

Some basic extra steps with some wood glue, some clamps if it doesnt sit square while the glue dries, and an appropriately coloured gap sealer really goes a long way for improving the final build quality.

Yes, this is a pretty annoying task regardless of neurotype.

I kind of enjoy parts of it but I fully agree with your point about having a little bit of a description or labelling rather than images that you have to stare at for ages to make sure you are putting the right thing in the right place. I've complained about this exact same thing to others.

Personally I've found that the metal stuff works a lot better than the wooden stuff from IKEA. The holes and screws are all machined and precise so there is less room for error. The wooden stuff sometimes doesn't line up or you split the wood or something else goes wrong a lot of the time.

I absolutely love doing it, as long as I have my own tools, and not the janky trash they include in the box.

Well, I usually just figure it out on my own. If that doesn't work out, I open the manual.

Yeah too much even with help. Can take 3hrs to screw legs onto a workout bench. Maybe I'm just stupid and can't follow instructions. It's better when they put the individual pieces in numbered bags, so easy to tell the difference